


CAT Comfort

by DarkMidniteMage



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Gen, Josh is sick, also there's like a tiny bit of fluff towards the end but it's not very good fluff, demiboy josh, mentions of josh throwing up, sort of hurt comfort?, soul cleaning via wings, there's a gray fluffball by the name of mya invovled
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-07 00:05:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18227225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMidniteMage/pseuds/DarkMidniteMage
Summary: Sometimes when Josh isn’t feeling well, Mr. H brings his cat over to Joshua’s apartment, goes to his bedroom, and gently plops the fluffball down beside the teen on the bed. He wants Josh to feel better, and sometimes cuddling with two cats is helpful.





	CAT Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by ComposerEgg

Sometimes when Josh isn’t feeling well, Mr. H brings his cat over to Joshua’s apartment, goes to his bedroom, and gently plops the fluffball down beside the teen on the bed. Mr. Hanekoma then leaves the room, makes peppermint tea, and brings it to Joshua’s bedroom table to cool until Josh wakes up to gentle purring.

 

The big ball of fluff known as Mya always curls up on Joshua’s chest, laying her head down or gently licking her paws. In this particular instance, she’s kneading her paws against Joshua’s chest, eyes closed and purring like a motor. It takes a little bit for Joshua to wake up, but when he does he tiredly lifts an arm to feel her soft fur along his hand. Mya rubs her head against Josh’s hand, finding her way further up Joshua’s chest to lick his cheek. Josh smiles faintly, but gently pats her paw and signals for her to move. 

 

She obliges, stepping down onto the bed. Josh pulls himself into a sitting position, grimacing when his head bites back in protest. A hand gently lays against his forehead, but he isn’t as worried about the sudden hand as he is about what this might mean. Mr. Hanekoma sighs quietly.

 

“Bed rest, Josh. I’ll go get some meds for you,” Mr. H speaks. “I made you some tea.”

 

Joshua shifts uncomfortably. He does  _ not _ like medication. He does  _ not _ .

 

“Work to do. Can’t sit… bed.”

 

That sentence was… very broken.

 

“You’re struggling to speak, Josh. You need rest.”

 

“Don’t need,” Josh says indignantly. Mr. H isn’t having it.

 

“Yes, you do. Lay down while I get your meds, okay?”

 

Josh can tell Mr. H is using an Imprint to make it seem like a good idea. He really doesn’t like it. It kind of hurts a little bit, as does his body moving on its own to curl on its side. He gets a cat in his face, rubbing up against him and laying down to cuddle. Mya rolls onto one side, requesting pets. Josh puts an arm around her and strokes the underfluff on her stomach, soft purrs telling him he’s making her happy.

 

Mr. Hanekoma retreats from the room, leaving Josh to ponder what exactly is wrong this time. It’s probably just a cold, but he isn’t sure. Does he even have a temperature? He feels cold, not warm. Mya is warm. Comfortable warm, not sweaty warm. His blanket isn’t warm enough. Joshua shivers.

 

A fleece blanket is draped over him suddenly, and a few chewable pills are dropped into his hand. The faster he takes them, the faster Mr. H leaves so he can get to work on his reports. He looks very hesitantly at the medication regardless. He reluctantly brings them up to his mouth, drops them in, and chews. Making a face at the bitter taste, he swallows.

 

Mr. H’s hand runs through his hair a few times, the motion gentle and calming to Josh. He doesn’t take his eyes off of Mr. H, though, because he’s saying something. He’s barely able to understand it over a sudden overpowering wave of tiredness.

 

“ _ Sleep well, Josh. _ ”

  
  


**~**

 

When Sanae comes back later to check on Josh, he's met with the frantic meowing of Mya, who jets down the hall and starts scratching at his pants leg.

 

Something's wrong. He leans down to pick Mya up, but she instantly starts squirming and jumps free. She runs down the hallway, meowing as if she wants him to follow. Sanae does, and she leads him to the bathroom.

 

A swear leaves his lips as he rapidly approaches Josh. He’s shaking against the tile, curling in on himself. Moving closer shows that he’s sobbing. Mya is trying to sit as a watcher, now, loafed on the floor. Sanae scoops Josh up into his arms, running fingers through his hair.

 

“It’s alright, Josh. You’re all right. Breathe. In, out.”

 

It’s his usual soft rambles for when Josh is crying. He massages Joshua’s forehead, his shoulders, the backs of his hands. Josh breathes a tiny bit easier, calming slowly. Sanae does his best to help him inhale and exhale slower, knowing this and the UG sickness he has could easily trigger and asthma attack. 

 

He lets Josh put his head against his chest, and Sanae goes back to massaging Joshua’s forehead and temples. That seems to level his breathing from shaky sobs into small hiccups, small hiccups to quiet breaths. Sanae decides, in that moment, that he’s going to try to do something. Josh may be unsure, may think it's risky, but Sanae hopes he'll trust him enough to do it. It could help break his temperature, along with other things. It’ll clean his Soul from the Noise affecting him, too.

 

“Josh...?” He starts. There’s a quieter hum of ‘what?’ from the small, sick teen. “Can you bring out your wings for me?”

 

Joshua moves his head so he can be heard as he asks why.

 

“There’s something I can do with them to help you feel better. It’ll get rid of the migraine.”

 

How Mr. knows he has a migraine, Josh isn’t sure. He can… he can trust Mr. H with this, right…?

 

He draws out his wings, stretching them from his shoulders carefully within limited space. A sharp inhale fills his lungs when one of them has the slight pressure of a hand applied under the curvature, fingers trailing through the feathers. The feeling makes him fall limp against Mr. Hanekoma, but there’s energy being pressed into his wings. Something about it makes everything wrong dull, makes it seem insignificant, and the painful pressure behind his right eye begins to trickle away and dissipate.

 

A solid arm wraps around him, reassuring him that things are going to be fine, that this is just a little roadbump in his life. Joshua feels lighter both mentally and physically, as if the weight of the city was lifted off of his shoulders. He’s quiet, but there’s a gentle pulsing through his wings that makes his breath pick up a little. His head is clearing, mind less foggy. There are small, painless sparks of electricity going into his wings, sending him into the eye of a hurricane. It’s a little disquieting.

 

A heavy wave of Music and Souls and  _ clarity _ crashes into him, focusing his view of the city down into the very sixteenth notes and cracks in the sidewalks. Shibuya, his  _ city, _ encompasses him, and it’s  _ beautiful _ . 

 

Joshua rises higher and higher, carried by a mental updraft, sees more and more of the city, when suddenly it all overflows and crashes against him and catches him in the undertow, dragging him out and back towards what’s right in front of him. He’s a fish out of water, trying to gather himself back enough to  _ breathe _ , but it’s like trying to drag cloth through a cheese grater. He’s drowning in carbon dioxide, like someone shoved cyanide down his throat.

 

A force pulls him back down into the world further, grounding him like a ten ton anchor to a ship. The water in his lungs evaporates, and his first full breath fills them instead. He can feel skin against his, running over his forehead. His hair is swept away from his eyes as he opens them. He doesn’t know when they ever closed. 

 

Awareness is starting to return to him. The being holding him is Mr. Hanekoma. The coolness against his skin is the tile of the floor. The soft humming of Shibuya’s Music plays a calming song for him, two hundred twenty-one thousand pieces playing a song together. He breathes. In. Out. Listens to the thrum of a heartbeat beside him. 

 

“Just breathe, Josh.  _ Breathe. _ ” Mr. H says quietly. “You’ll be fine in a moment.”

 

Joshua feels like he’s gone skinny-dipping in a Russian lake, without the memory of why. He puts himself as close to Mr. Hanekoma as possible, drawing his wings back into his Soul. He can’t seem to get  _ warm _ again. The migraine is completely gone at this point, but now he’s got chills going through his body. Cold is  _ bad _ .

 

“Why don’t you take a shower for a little bit, Josh?” Mr. H suggests. “You have cat hair all over you.”

 

Joshua looks over himself, frowning. “Not my fault Mya’s shedding.”

 

Mr. H chuckles, ruffling Josh’s hair. “You cuddle with her too much.”

 

In response, Josh makes a noncommittal noise, nuzzling against Mr. H for warmth. He makes another noise, this time of complaint, because Mr. Hanekoma has decided to push him up from where he was laying. He squirms to get closer to him again.

 

“Josh, I want you to take a shower. You have to get up.”

 

“But cooold!” Josh whines.

 

“The shower water is warm. You’ll be warm, and clean.

 

“But I want not-wet warmmmm-”

 

“Josh, we can curl up on the couch with some chocolate and that TV show you like. You just need to get cleaned up. I could bring one of the bath bombs from your room too, if you want to take a bath instead.”

 

Josh considers it. Cold and no chocolate or wet warm then  _ warm _ warm and chocolate. The second sounds nice.

 

“...okay.”

 

Mr. H smiles, his hand moving down Joshua’s hair one last time before he moves to help Josh off the floor. He flushes the toilet, taking a mint out of his pocket and giving it to Josh. There’s a quietly rustling as he opens the wrapper and puts it into his mouth, looking distractedly at the bathtub.

 

“You’re already up. You might as well,”Mr. H comments. “I’ll bring you some comfy clothes. Do you want a bath bomb?”

 

“No, I’ll take… shower.”

 

If Mr. H noticed the missing word, he didn’t comment on it. He just pats Josh’s head, runs a hand along his hair once, then leaves him to go get clothes. He’s back a few seconds after Josh runs the bath to get the water warmed up, depositing some clean, soft clothing on the counter. Josh looks back at him, but he’s already left and shut the door. Joshua locks it, deciding he might as well get in while it’s still nice and warm.

 

He undresses, trying his best not to look at the body he hates. He pulls aside the shower curtain, carefully stepping into the bathtub. He hides himself behind the plastic layer of the curtain, then pulls the tab on the bath faucet.

 

**~**

 

In the living room, Sanae sets up a cozy atmosphere for Josh. He’s brought the weighted blanket from the bedroom. Mya watches him from the chair as he ignites a peppermint candle, making sure the flame isn’t dangerous. Sanae puts down pillows near one side of the couch, the goes to get the chocolate from the kitchen table. An assorted chocolate box, chocolate chips that he might use later, chocolate bars, and mint chocolate chip ice cream, which is Joshua’s favorite. He puts the ice cream in the freezer, leaving the chocolate chips on the table. He knows Josh hasn’t eaten all day, so he’ll be hungry.

 

Sanae hears the shower turn off, so he waits. After a few minutes, Josh emerges, hair towel dried and slightly dripping in the back. He walks over quietly, eyes averted and red. Sanae places the chocolate down on the coffee table, then moves over to Joshua and guides him gently over to the couch. He sits Josh down, stroking his hair once to dry it before he moves over to pick up a box of chocolates and lay down near the back of the sofa. Joshua scoots up closer, then sprawls himself over Mr. H’s chest. Mr. H holds a piece of chocolate to his lips, which Josh takes. It’s soft with a mint center, and as he chews quietly Mr. Hanekoma flicks on the TV to the Tin Pin Slammer anime.

 

“Just rest for a while, I got you some ice cream, and if you’re feeling up to it, we can make cookies later,” Mr. H murmurs.

 

“That sounds… good.”

 

Mr. Hanekoma uses Imagination to cover both of them with the weighted blanket, getting another piece of chocolate out of the box. He holds that up for Josh to take as well, giving him a slight tap on the cheek to get his attention.Josh takes the chocolate, then makes a small request.

 

“Can you… um…” Josh stutters a bit. He sighs and tries again. “Can you mess… with my… my hair?”

 

Mr. H’s hands move into messy blonde strands, his free arm draped over Joshua almost protectively. There’s a gentleness behind his movements that Josh doesn’t mind. Mr. H feeds him another piece of chocolate.

 

Mya leaps suddenly to the couch from the chair, landing behind Mr. H’s legs and covering the entire space with her fluffy body. Josh laughs a little.

 

“What’s so funny?” Mr. Hanekoma asks him.

 

“Two cats on the couch.”

 

It takes Mr. Hanekoma a moment to realize the joke. He ruffles Joshua’s hair, which gets a whiny noise from him. Really, though, it would be three cats. Josh just hasn’t seen his own noise form yet.

 

Sanae rests his hand over Joshua’s, massaging the back of it. He levitates a piece of chocolate over to Joshua, who takes it and just lets it melt inside his mouth. The two of them lay there quietly, the TV white noise in the background. Josh closes his eyes, listening faintly to Mr. H’s breaths and his heartbeat. He counts his breaths in a minute. Lays still, world obscured. His consciousness tears from his body, drifting away and carried on Shibuya’s Music.

 

Sanae still continues to trace his fingers through ash blonde locks long after he’s noticed his Composer has fallen asleep. He rests his head near Joshua’s, gently kissing his hair. There’s silence in the air as the TV turns off on its own.

 

The angel holds the Composer close, his eyes falling shut. There’s time for them to rest. 


End file.
